Just a little blog for posting various creations for the BECMI / Rules Cyclopedia edition of Dungeons and Dragons. All hail the Red Box!
Updated whenever possible with a little something, whether a monster or spell or item or just a little list of whatevers.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Monster: Sshian

Patient and cunning, the sshian begin to expand their territories once again after uncounted centuries of degeneration and decline -- and they have little use for young "upstarts" such as humanity except as slave fodder. Arming themselves with jade and black iron, the sshian strike out to reclaim what was once theirs.

Humanoid in a vague sense, the upper body of a sshian has a narrow torso and two muscled, grasping arms. Their three-fingered hands are long and claw-tipped, and their arms adorned with long colourful feathers -- vestiges of wings. Their narrow snouts are beaked and fanged, and a brilliant feathered creast rises over their slitted eyes and runs down their spine. The remainder of a sshian is covered in dense shining scales, including their serpentine lower bodies.

Sshian prefer to let their slaves fight for them; when pressed into combat, they attack with baroque weaponry or -- if desperate -- bite for 1-6 hit points of damage. Their bite is venomous, requiring a successful save to avoid 3-12 hit points of damage; but they prefer to spit (with a 10' range) in order to blind. Three times a day a sshian's gaze will charm any who meet it.

Sshian with greater than base Hit Dice are far from unknown; the coiled ones use ancient and delicately bloody rituals to grow in power and stature. Those of greater Hit Dice may acquire spellcasting ability.

Very, very nice! These guys will almost certainly be making an appearance in my Thursday game (which may soon be turning into a Sunday game).

Thank ye :3

A couple of questions: If I'm reading this correctly, the creature is serpentine, but with feathered arms and a fanged beak? No other appendages?

No other appendages. Vaguely humanoid, narrow-gauge torso atop serpentine body, feathered arms and the snout loaded with fangs and rimmed/tipped with a beak.

How often can they spit? Would you allow a save to avoid being blinded? How long does the blindness last?

They can spit as often as they wish, though it's a ranged attack and could conceivably incur a penalty on the to-hit roll; I haven't seen a limitation for venomous critters in the Red Box. It's the same as being bitten by one of the venomous snakes written up.

On that note, since it's still a toxin I would indeed allow a save vs. poison to avoid blindness. Once you're nailed, though, you need magic or funky herbal/alchemical cocktails to fix you.